Page 15 of His Noble Ruin

I stared for a moment too long, hoping he didn’t recognize me from The Wordsmith—or anywhere else for that matter. “No, not that I recall.”

“Oh.” He frowned. “Sorry.”

“For what?”

He shrugged. “I have an awful habit of saying the wrong thing.”

“I’ve got that problem, too. Not the best quality in a Cambrian.”

One corner of his mouth lifted, revealing the closest thing I’d seen to a smile.

I added another book to my stack. Only one remained on the floor. He picked up my father’s journal, his eyes widening.

“Is something wrong?” I asked innocently.

He turned the book over in his hands, studying its odd binding. “Where did you find this?”

I smiled, pleased with his curiosity. “It belongs to this library.”

He opened it up, flipping through the handwritten pages and maps. “But it’s an explorer’s guide. It almost looks like it was written by”—he lowered his voice to a whisper—“but I suppose that’s not possible, is it?”

“I’m sure it’s an old book,” I assured him. “It must’ve been written back when exploration wasn’t yet forbidden. Either way, it’s one-of-a-kind. Part of our special collection. We don’t permit it to leave the library.”

He studied its pages for a long moment before closing it and looking up at me. A new spark lit his eyes and they seemed a little less lonely than before. “If it’s that old and belongs to the library, it can’t be illicit then, I suppose. It’s just that . . . the ink on the cover looks fresh.”

I shook my head. “I assure you we don’t keep illicit material in our library, sir. However, if you’re concerned, we could turn it into the Academy for review.” I reached my hand toward the book.

He tightened his grip on it. “Oh, that’s not necessary. I believe you.”

“Well, since you seem interested, I’ll leave it with you for now. Please make sure to turn it in to me before you go so I can put it back where it belongs.”

I held my stack of books tight and stood up.

The heir stood, too, his eyes at the same level as mine. “Thank you, milady.”

I turned to go, then stopped and added one last thing. “You’ve chosen a good study room, by the way. My favorite. It’s where I like to read.”

He nodded and his mouth turned up again.

I smiled back, feeling strangely uncomfortable. As my face warmed, I left the room before he could say another word.

I walked down the corridor, glad the heir was inching toward my grasp. As he read my father’s journal, I hoped his view of outlaws would change, making it safer for me to tell him I was one of them. Even his perception of the city might shift, which was what I needed. He had to realize his precious Cambria wasn’t perfect before I could possibly get him to leave it.

ChapterSix

Cleaninghundred-year-old dust and grime occupied my hands for the next few hours. Graham stayed in his study room, never once making an appearance. When closing time approached, Mr. Whitting finally left his desk, leaving his newspaper alone for the first time that day.

I hurried over and picked it up, glancing around to make sure Mrs. Whitting wasn’t watching. I took a seat, ducking low over the paper in the candlelight, scanning the front page for anything I might need to know.

As expected, the heir’s question and answer session had been whitewashed, but it was accurate other than the exclusion of my question. I saw no mention of the journalist’s arrest, but when I turned the page, I found something worse.

I had made theWantedlist. Twice. They didn’t have a name or drawing attached to me, but my stomach twisted at the realization that I’d already gotten myself on the Academy’s watch.

The first profile described a young woman who’d impersonated a maid at The Wordsmith during the journalist event. Her crimes: injury to a butler, property damage, theft, and other suspicious behavior.

The next profile was an “alleged noblewoman” who’d made a purchase in the market without proof of rank. A brief description followed: brown hair, tall, between sixteen and twenty years of age.

I stared at the page until the meaning of the words got lost among the tiny symbols.

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